Monday, July 18, 2011

NHL Free Agency: Why the Islanders Should do Everything to get Drew Doughty

Opportunities like this do not come around often if it even is an opportunity.

Drew Doughty is arguably one of the best defensemen in the NHL and he is a free agent at the age of 21.

Yes I know he is a restricted free agent and signing him is not as simple as throwing the most money at him.

The Kings have the right to match any contract Doughty chooses to accept.

It is no secret the Islanders have the most cap space in the NHL right now and have millions and millions of dollars to spend to even just get to the NHL's mandated salary cap floor of $48.3 million dollars.

Meaning that if the Islanders are going to be salary cap compliant for this season they need to add about $9 million dollars in salary as per the current league rules.

Yes you read that right.

So how are they going to do that? they must have a bunch of restricted free agents to sign right?

Wrong.

The Islanders currently have three RFA's on the team. Josh Bailey, Blake Comeau and Jesse Joensuu.

Assuming the team resigns all three players, that would likely leave around five to six million to spend.

So where are they going to spend it.

I say Garth Snow: go out and do everything humanly possible to get Drew Doughty in Islander colors.

So what would it take to get him?

Well the Islanders would have to sign him to an offer sheet so extremely high that the Kings would walk away from their right to match or work out a trade.

Let us explore the most likely way it could happen and that is trade. What do you trade for a 21 year old all star defenseman?

Realistically, were talking a package of Calvin de Haan, Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson and two first round draft picks.

Then there is the matter of actually signing Doughty but that is something that Islanders GM Garth Snow should already have an idea of what it will take because Doughty is a free agent so negotiations could have already begun.

The other route is signing Doughty to a over priced offer sheet that the Kings would not be able to or unwilling to match.

How much would it take?

The Kings have just over nine million in cap space right now. So any deal with Doughty would have to be over that amount.

The beauty of it is is that if you sign Doughty to lets say a three year, 36 million dollar contract you would be paying him an average of 12 million dollars a season.

The Kings would not be able to match that and be cap compliant.

If they refuse to match, the Islanders would then have to pay restitution to the Kings in the form of four first round draft picks.

Either case the Islanders should be exhausting all avenues to get Drew Doughty if at all possible on his team.

Garth Snow, you want to show the world that the Islanders are for real?

That's a lot of future to trade for a player, even doughty. Opportunities like this don't come around often but the isles are not 1 drew doughty away from the cup. They still need those prospects and first rounders to make this team a cup contender.

I don't think there's anything 'arguable" about this guy being "one of the best" D-men in the league. I'd bet he's a multiple Norris winner in the making, and worth giving up a ton for. The only 2 players I wouldn't give up for this guy are Tavares and Nino. He's the only defenseman that's ever reminded me even remotely of Potvin, and he would transform the defense and change the whole team.

4 1st rounders for a 3yr rental fo Doughty? That's a bit crazy. We'd have less first rounders then we would have years of Doughty. Just crazy. I'm all for bringing Doughty in "at the right price" and term, but at the loss of 4 1st rounders we better damn sure lock him up for "at least" 5yrs.